A raffle is one of the most effective ways for a small organization to raise money. It's simple to understand, people are happy to participate, and a good prize can generate real revenue from a modest effort. A 50/50 raffle at home games can quietly become one of your most dependable income streams across a season.
But a raffle is also a form of gaming, and gaming is regulated. The rules vary significantly from state to state — and sometimes by county or municipality — and getting them wrong can range from an embarrassing problem to a serious one. This guide walks through the practical mechanics of running a clean raffle and the compliance questions you need to answer. One important caveat up front: this is general guidance, not legal advice. Raffle laws differ everywhere, they change, and the only reliable source for your situation is your own state and local rules. Always confirm with the relevant authority before you sell a single ticket.
Why raffle compliance matters
It's tempting to treat a small raffle as too minor to worry about. Resist that. Charitable gaming rules exist in nearly every state, and they often apply even to small, informal-feeling raffles. The consequences of ignoring them can include fines, having to refund or forfeit proceeds, and personal exposure for the volunteers who ran it. None of that is worth the risk when getting compliant is usually straightforward.
The reassuring news: most states have a clear path for nonprofits and community organizations to run raffles legally. It often involves registering or getting a permit, following some rules about who can sell and how proceeds are used, and keeping records. It's paperwork, not an obstacle course. The key is finding out what your path is before you start.
Questions to answer before you sell a ticket
Every state is different, so rather than tell you the rules (which would be wrong somewhere), here are the questions to take to your state's charitable-gaming authority, gaming commission, attorney general's office, or your organization's attorney. Getting clear answers to these is the foundation of a compliant raffle:
- Does our organization qualify to run a raffle? Many states limit legal raffles to registered nonprofits, 501(c) organizations, or specific categories of community groups. Confirm your organization is eligible.
- Do we need a permit, license, or registration? Many jurisdictions require one before any tickets are sold. Find out the cost, the lead time, and who applies.
- Are there limits on prize value, ticket price, or total proceeds? Some states cap these, or require a higher tier of licensing above a threshold.
- Who is allowed to sell tickets, and to whom? There are often rules about minimum age (for both sellers and buyers) and whether sales can cross state lines.
- Can we sell tickets online, or must sales be in person? This is a critical and frequently misunderstood point — see below.
- How must proceeds be used, and how must they be reported? Many states require that proceeds go to the charitable purpose and that you file a report afterward.
- Are there rules about how the drawing is conducted — witnesses, public notice, record retention?
Write down the answers and keep them with your raffle records. If you run the same raffle annually, you'll re-verify (rules change) but you won't start from zero.
The online-sales question deserves special attention
The single most common compliance mistake is assuming you can sell raffle tickets online the way you'd sell anything else. Online raffle sales are treated very differently across states — some permit them under conditions, some restrict them heavily, and some prohibit them outright, particularly across state lines. Do not assume. Confirm specifically whether online raffle ticket sales are allowed in your jurisdiction before setting one up, even if in-person raffles are clearly fine. This is exactly the kind of detail where good intentions don't protect you.
Choosing your raffle format
Once you know what's permitted, pick a format that fits your event and audience.
Traditional prize raffle. You secure a prize (donated is best — pure margin), sell numbered tickets, and draw a winner. Works well for a single big-ticket item or a basket of donated goods.
50/50 raffle. Ticket sales are split: half the pot goes to the winner, half to your organization. This is enormously popular at games because there's no prize to source — the prize is cash, funded by the sales themselves. It's self-sustaining and scales with the crowd. Note that 50/50 raffles are still raffles for legal purposes and fall under the same rules.
Multi-prize or tiered raffle. Several prizes drawn from one pool of tickets. Good for a banquet or big event where you've collected multiple donated items.
Calendar or recurring raffle. A ticket enters the buyer into a series of drawings over time. These can have additional regulatory wrinkles, so confirm carefully.
For most organizations starting out, a single-prize raffle with a donated item, or a 50/50 at home games, is the simplest to run cleanly.
Selling tickets
The mechanics of ticket sales, once you've confirmed what's legal:
Number every ticket and keep both halves. The buyer keeps one half (their entry); you keep the matching stub with their name and contact. The stubs are your record and your means of contacting the winner.
Set a clear price and any quantity deals. "$5 each or 5 for $20" is standard. Post the prices, the prize, the drawing date, and the rules everywhere tickets are sold.
Decide your sales channels based on what's legal. In-person at games and events is universally simpler. If — and only if — online sales are permitted in your jurisdiction, selling online dramatically expands your reach and removes the cash-handling burden.
Handle the money cleanly. This is where a lot of raffle revenue goes sideways. Cash sold at a game needs to be tracked and reconciled against tickets sold. Cashless sales are far cleaner — every sale is recorded, the count is automatic, and there's no envelope of cash to reconcile or lose. When raffle sales run through the same system as the rest of your operation, the tickets-sold and money-collected numbers match by default. HometownLift handles raffles, including 50/50, as one of its built-in revenue tools, so the sale, the entry record, and the reconciliation happen together rather than in three separate places.
Conducting the drawing
The drawing itself should be transparent and documented, both because some states require it and because it protects your organization's credibility.
- Hold the drawing as advertised. Same date, time, and place you told ticket buyers. Changing it invites distrust and may violate your terms.
- Make it visible. Draw in public if you can — at the game, at the event, on a live stream. A drawing nobody witnessed is a drawing people can question.
- Have a witness, ideally a non-participant. A neutral person who can confirm the draw was fair. Some states require this; do it regardless.
- Document the winning number and the winner. Record which ticket won, who held it, and that they were notified.
- For a 50/50, calculate and announce the split transparently. State the total pot and the winner's share so everyone can see the math.
- Have a plan for an unclaimed prize. Decide in advance (and check your local rules) what happens if the winner can't be reached. Many jurisdictions have requirements here.
Record-keeping: the part that protects you
Records are not bureaucratic busywork — they're what protects your volunteers if anyone ever asks questions, and they're often legally required. Keep, at minimum:
- The permit or license and your confirmation of eligibility
- A record of tickets printed, sold, and unsold — the numbers should reconcile
- Total proceeds collected and how the money was handled
- The winning ticket(s) and winner information
- Documentation of the drawing — date, witness, results
- How proceeds were used (often required to be reported to the state)
- Any required post-event report filed with the authority, and proof of filing
Retain these for as long as your state requires (it varies — confirm), and keep them somewhere they'll survive a change of treasurer. Records that live on one volunteer's personal device disappear when that volunteer rotates off. A shared system that holds the raffle data alongside your other records means the next person inherits a clean trail instead of a gap.
A compliant-raffle checklist
- Identify your state/local charitable-gaming authority
- Confirm your organization is eligible to run a raffle
- Determine whether a permit/license/registration is required — and get it
- Confirm limits on prize value, ticket price, and proceeds
- Confirm who may sell and buy, and any age rules
- Specifically confirm whether online ticket sales are permitted
- Confirm how proceeds must be used and reported
- Number tickets and keep matching stubs with buyer info
- Track sales and money cleanly (cashless reconciles automatically)
- Hold the drawing as advertised, with a witness, and document it
- Keep complete records and file any required report
Do it right and it pays off year after year
A raffle done correctly is a low-effort, high-return fundraiser you can repeat every season — and a 50/50 at home games can run all season long with almost no overhead. The compliance work is front-loaded: figure out the rules once, get your permit, set up clean ticket sales and records, and the actual running of it is straightforward. The organizations that get burned are the ones that skipped the homework and assumed a "little raffle" didn't count. Don't be one of them — and don't take this article as the final word. Your state's authority is.
Once you're confident you're compliant, the running of it is the easy part. Want to see how raffle sales, including 50/50, run inside one operational dashboard with the records kept automatically? Reach out and request access.